The Secret Footballer | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/profile/the-secret-footballer
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The Secret Footballer: it will be love and hate with the fans, so just accept ithttp://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/nov/06/the-secret-footballer-book-extract-fans-supporters
<p>In an extract <a href="http://bookshop.theguardian.com/secret-footballer-s-guide-to-the-modern-game.html">from his new book</a>, The Secret Footballer explains why players are damned if they do … and damned if they don’t</p><p>For all the books written about football, for all the information available online, and for the closeness that it is still possible to feel to the players in some areas of the country, the fans will never really know how a player feels when he steps on and off the pitch, what it’s like to score, what it’s like to win a football match, and how it feels to have 80,000 people watching what you’re about to do with the ball.</p><p>The fans work all the hours that God sends so that they can spend part of their income on an expensive ticket to watch us play for the sum total of 90 minutes, and most of them aren’t overly bothered about any problems that a player may have outside of those 90 minutes. In fact, most of the fans I talk to, including many of my friends, believe that the right amount of money will remove any problem a footballer may have. While it is true that monetary problems are generally squashed in the womb, many of the other problems everybody has to deal with in everyday life persist. We’re not all that different.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/nov/06/the-secret-footballer-book-extract-fans-supporters">Continue reading...</a>FootballSportThu, 06 Nov 2014 14:06:45 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/nov/06/the-secret-footballer-book-extract-fans-supportersPhotograph: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty ImagesQPR fans air their views during a game with Chelsea in 2011.Photograph: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty ImagesQPR fans air their views during a game with Chelsea in 2011.The Secret Footballer2014-11-06T14:06:45ZThe Secret Footballer: Sexism and racism are football’s dirty secrethttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/22/sexism-racism-football-dirty-secret-malky-mackay-iain-moody-cardiff-city
<p>I wouldn’t excuse Malky Mackay and Iain Moody if the allegations of their abusive messages are true, but they’re certainly not alone</p><p>I reckon that if you took all the phones of everybody involved in football, 90% of them would contain emails or text messages displaying homophobia, sexism, racism and everything in between.</p><p>Not that I’m defending the former Cardiff manager Malky Mackay and the club’s former head of recruitment, Iain Moody, after the dawn raid on Moody’s south London home, at which investigators allegedly recovered <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/aug/21/malky-mackay-iain-moody-dossier-fa-cardiff-city" title="">text messages containing similarly distasteful exchanges between the pair</a>. It’s just a gut feeling that I have, coupled with my experience of people within the game shoving similar filth under my nose for the past dozen years or so.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/22/sexism-racism-football-dirty-secret-malky-mackay-iain-moody-cardiff-city">Continue reading...</a>FootballUK newsSportCardiff CityRace issuesWorld newsWomenGenderFri, 22 Aug 2014 12:20:57 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/22/sexism-racism-football-dirty-secret-malky-mackay-iain-moody-cardiff-cityPhotograph: /Tom JenkinsFormer Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay. Photograph: Tom JenkinsPhotograph: /Tom JenkinsFormer Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay. Photograph: Tom JenkinsThe Secret Footballer2014-08-22T12:20:57ZTales from the Secret Footballer: exclusive extracthttp://www.theguardian.com/news/2013/nov/18/tales-from-the-secret-footballer-exclusive-extract
In this extract from his new book, The Secret Footballer explains the real meaning of football<p>I always told myself that I wouldn’t push my kids into sport. When playing football was making me feel like topping myself, I vowed that I’d keep them away from it altogether. But my older son is now at the point where he wants to try the things that he does in the back garden, like football, mini-golf and swingball tennis, with other kids. Near our house there is a flashy country club that caters for children whose parents drag them there kicking and screaming and dressed in all the gear, with every possible accessory. It is an extremely competitive environment and I get off on the fact that while we don’t fit in because we don’t come from money, most of the other members would love their children to be professional sportspeople, like me.</p><p>I sneer at these people – or at least I did – because the kids aren’t playing for the enjoyment of it. They’re playing for their parents. They’ll probably all grow into very successful adults – and maybe the competitive spirit that they pick up now will play a part in that – but it rather flies in the face of my fairly liberal approach to parenting. I’d like my own kids to be successful but I’d much rather they were happy.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/news/2013/nov/18/tales-from-the-secret-footballer-exclusive-extract">Continue reading...</a>Mon, 18 Nov 2013 15:41:57 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/news/2013/nov/18/tales-from-the-secret-footballer-exclusive-extractPhotograph: Guardian BooksTales from the Secret FootballerPhotograph: Guardian BooksTales from the Secret FootballerPhotograph: Guardian BooksTales from the Secret FootballerPhotograph: Guardian BooksTales from the Secret FootballerThe Secret Footballer2013-11-18T15:41:57ZTales From The Secret Footballer: San Siro, my father and Fabio Capellohttp://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/nov/07/the-secret-footballer-san-siro-fabio-capello
In an exclusive extract from the new book, The Secret Footballer recounts his dream visit to the home of Milan and an awkward meeting with a former England manager<p>I've never had much interest in the perks that come with football. My golden years came about in part because I forfeited all the bullshit that came from success. I wanted to succeed in this game more than I wanted to revel in any of the spoils; believe me, there are plenty of players who choose to go about that in reverse.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/nov/07/the-secret-footballer-san-siro-fabio-capello">Continue reading...</a>FootballMilanFabio CapelloTottenham HotspurSportThu, 07 Nov 2013 13:15:52 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/nov/07/the-secret-footballer-san-siro-fabio-capelloTony O'Brien/Action ImagesFabio Capello, the former England manager, experienced an uncomfortable meeting with The Secret Footballer at San Siro. Photograph: Tony O'Brien/Action ImagesThe Secret Footballer2013-11-07T13:15:52ZThe Secret Footballer answers readers' questions - videohttp://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2013/nov/07/the-secret-footballer-answers-readers-questions-video
The Guardian's anonymous man inside the game answers questions posed by readers, ahead of the release of his second book, <a href="http://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9781783350087">Tales From the Secret Footballer</a>, which is out on Thursday. The mystery footballer gives his thoughts on the FA's commission, homophobic bullying in the dressing room, and the politics of signing for rival clubs <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2013/nov/07/the-secret-footballer-answers-readers-questions-video">Continue reading...</a>Premier LeagueFootballSportBooksThu, 07 Nov 2013 12:03:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2013/nov/07/the-secret-footballer-answers-readers-questions-videowww.thesecretfootballer.com/www.thesecretfootballer.comThe Secret Footballer
Photograph: www.thesecretfootballer.comThe Secret Footballer2013-11-07T12:03:04ZThe Secret Footballer: why Alex Ferguson is a legend of the gamehttp://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/may/11/secret-footballer-alex-ferguson-legend
Our man on the pitch, the Secret Footballer, has called up two pals&nbsp;close to Man United's Alex Ferguson – and his successor David Moyes – to get the inside story on him as he retires<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2013/may/08/alex-ferguson-key-figures" title="">Thirty-eight trophies</a>, including 13 league titles, two Champions Leagues, five FA Cups and four League Cups. Not bad for a man that was a Mark Robins goal away from the sack. The king isn't dead, he just has nothing left to prove.</p><p>When a story of this magnitude breaks, it's normal protocol to phone a&nbsp;person who is as close to the action as possible. That person turned out to be a&nbsp;former team-mate of mine who played under Sir Alex Ferguson during the glorious treble-winning season, and who just so happened to have called the&nbsp;Scot's retirement when I spoke to him in&nbsp;January. In fact, he has an uncanny knack for calling big moves before they happen at Old Trafford, coupled with a healthy appetite for sharing them with me – which is just as well because, believe me, finding people willing to talk about Ferguson is tough.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/may/11/secret-footballer-alex-ferguson-legend">Continue reading...</a>Sir Alex FergusonFootballSportSat, 11 May 2013 08:02:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/may/11/secret-footballer-alex-ferguson-legendTom Jenkins/Guardian'He was the big man' … Sir Alex Ferguson celebrating a Manchester United victory over Chelsea in 2011. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the GuardianTom Jenkins/Guardian'He was the big man' … Sir Alex Ferguson celebrating a Manchester United victory over Chelsea in 2011. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the GuardianThe Secret Footballer2013-05-11T08:02:00ZThe Secret Footballer answers your questionshttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/aug/23/secret-footballer-answers-questions-live
The Secret Footballer answered readers' questions, with a free <a href="http://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9780852653081">book</a> and <a href="http://www.philosophyfootball.com/view_item.php?pid=826">T-shirt</a> awarded for every question answered<p>Good morning. <strong>The Secret Footballer will be online at 11.30am to answer your questions</strong>. </p><p>Every question answered will be awarded with a free copy of his new book <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/jul/13/the-secret-footballer-book">I Am The Secret Footballer</a> and one of our <a href="http://www.philosophyfootball.com/view_item.php?pid=826">Secret Footballer T-shirts</a>. If you have any questions, drop them into the <strong>comments section below</strong>.</p><p>At this stage of my career I have become frustrated at hearing things that I know to be incorrect. I heard these same things well over ten years ago when I started my career and that has become a sense of huge frustration for me personally. I wouldn't say that it is important that I share them, I think it might be more for my own peace of mind and sanity as much as anything else.</p><p>Well, I suppose there is an argument that wages were only going to go one way when Jimmy Hill lobbied to abolish the maximum wage because the demand has always been there for football, especially in this country. However, we all know that the real reason for enormous wages is a combination of Sky TV and the inception of the Premier League so if I had to say a year it would be 1992.</p><p>Regarding the second part of the question, it is impossible to tell. I can, however, point to the things that would not have been there without the money. There is a certain pressure to maintain the income as the seasons are slipping by and a feeling of butterflies in the stomach as you are running out of time. And I think for a lot of players this can be applied to, for example, the adulation, the camaraderie etc. Fortunately I have always had an exit plan in place but so many don't.</p><p>A friend of mine that is a journo is adamant that Scandinavian players are the friendliest and most approachable and I can certainly agree with that. It does seem as if players from abroad (not all of course) are well rounded and more capable of dealing with the spotlight. </p><p>A foreign friend of mine at one club I played for used to think that this was because they would make it in to teams at a young age in so called lesser leagues before coming to the big European leagues, and they also knew that they would be going home one day which enabled them to look at life outside of the bubble.</p><p>Can you ask the editor for me? And then let me know!</p><p>A couple of players do know. One is involved in the secret footballer website and the other has since retired. It obviously isn't the sort of thing that I discuss in the dressing room, not because I would be worried about what they thought but because word would soon get out in to the public domain, and that would have ruined the columns and the book.</p><p>I can only think of one player I have played with that reads a broadsheet and he certainly wouldn't be a player that you would have expected to read The Times. The most popular paper is The Sun, followed by The Star but even then it is literally a 30-second flick through. </p><p>Any player that reads on the bus or the plane is reading a novel, lots of the foreign players read novels. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was passed around the coach last year at the request of the players. Unheard of!</p><p>Golas. Everyone on our estate had Golas, moulded of course.</p><p>Wednesday is nearly always our day off. Read the book!</p><p>Thanks. In reply to your question the most common flagrance of a manager's instructions is from set pieces. Sometimes a player just needs to go with his gut instinct of where the ball will be delivered and where the opportunity for a strike a goal may lie. We all have individually tailored runs but if a team is in desperate need of a goal in the final minutes you might find that the players go with their instincts. </p><p>As for losing a dressing room, it most definitely does happen and it will come on the back of a manager that changes too much too soon or a manager that just isn't up to the job and is out of his depth. The players will lose respect and stop trying as hard.</p><p>I cannot believe you have gone for that one, you wouldn't last 2 seconds in the dressing room! haha</p><p>A lot of the African players have some interesting rituals. One African player I played with had two tiny pieces of cardboard wrapped with tape that he would slide down his shinpads. It was something to do with warding off bad luck.</p><p>Are you suggesting I'm one footed! How dare you! no, both are as bad as each other!</p><p>I think anybody that knows me would understand that it is not important to me if I am remembered or not. I am uncomfortable with being remembered as a footballer anyway because there is so much else to do. Not that I haven't done anything that is worth remembering - that's an occupational hazard!</p><p>I really thought that there could be some residual euphoria left over that could creep across into the football season. Then I saw Ashley Cole chop a City player down in the community shield and tell the referee what he thought of his decision to award a freekick - and I got that sinking feeling again...</p><p>Good question. Hindsight is not a 'wonderful thing' as the saying goes, it is pointless in my view especially in football because even if you learn from a mistake in the early part of your career it isn't like you can benefit from it at 40 or 50, like other jobs. But if I was advising a 17-year-old now I would tell them not to be discouraged by rejection. I know lots of players that were rejected as kids that are now very successful footballers.</p><p>Replying to questions that have an obvious answer plus... </p><p>Dressing badly, especially dodgy shoes. These will be tied from the ceiling or crossbar for everyone to see.</p><p>We can certainly hear some of the things that are shouted, maybe if the game goes dead or you happen to be playing at one of the bigger stadiums where there are often lulls in the atmosphere as the fans wait for an inevitable victory. I can understand that fans get frustrated with players but I have to feel for some players that come on to a chorus of groaning, how does that help?</p><p>I think there are many pros and cons to signing for a big club as a kid. On the plus side you will always be known as a player that &quot;came through&quot; at Manchester United or Arsenal which generally means you will get a good move when your regular playing career starts. The obvious downside is that the competition is incredibly fierce and today, you really do have to be fairly exceptional. </p><p>Josh McEachran is a great example, he is undoubtably a talented player, similar to Wilshire but he simply cannot get near Chelsea's starting 11 as they spend tens of millions on players that don't have as far to go to become regular first teamers.</p><p>A couple of players have seen me taking my pills before training and asked what they are (probably in fear that they are missing out on something) and so I have simply told them. They are always completely nonplussed. Club staff are generally excellent, after all, my performances affect their positions at the club but they are also looking out for me because, more often than not, we are friends. </p><p>In light of some of the high profile cases the understanding within football is now pretty good, we have recognised that this is happening rather than pretending it isn't which was a major barrier even a few years ago. Interesting to see the former Norwich player Darren Eadie has set up a clinic to help treat depression in football specifically.</p><p>Hate is a strong word but I take your point. I have lost count of the amount of times that i have thought to myself, 'if we could get rid of him, him and him, this would be a great club'. I am certain that other players have said thought that about me too. I think it can be a motivation to get in the team but I think that is where we draw the line, it's not as if we hope that they go off the road on the way home from training or anything!</p><p>I know lots of players that thrive on the intimacy of the older, city based stadiums such as White Hart Lane and Goodison Park. I tend to lean that way too but sometimes when you are playing at the huge, brand new grounds you can't help but be impressed. The Emirates and The Etihad are both fantastic stadiums to play football in and Arsenal even do chicken nuggets in the changing room after! Bonus!</p><p>&quot;Some time ago I was turned on to a column in The Financial Times called 'The Secret Agent', who worked in London sourcing real estate for the very wealthy. I became hooked on the idea of the column as much as anything else. His writing is excellent but I could never shake the thought of how huge a secret footballer column could be.&quot;</p><p>&quot;A friend of mine who runs one of the big weekly gossip magazines once told me that her publication goes out of their way to place David and Victoria Beckham on their front cover every week. The sales of the magazine increase significantly, regardless of what the story is about. In fact, she said in the absence of a real story they will simply &quot;generate&quot; one just to get their picture on the cover. None of that is new, but what has changed is the amount of &quot;celebrities&quot; this practice now extends to. It seems every company wants to affiliate itself with a celebrity and, whether they like it or not, footballers are some of the biggest global celebrities around.&quot;</p><p>There is nothing like a concealed identity to drive people wild. Aside from all those Shakespearean kings going among their people disguised as commoners, it's the basis of the classic murder mystery, in which the governing idea is that someone with whom you thought you were familiar is capable of lethal actions, right under your nose. Just as this unnerves, it also bewitches: what if you were able to unravel the clues and solve the mystery? What would that say about you?</p><p>As much as I enjoy the Guardian's Secret Footballer column, which has been running in the paper for the past 18 months or so, I must confess that I get even greater pleasure out of occasionally checking in with the website whoisthesecretfootballer.co.uk. </p><p>Eminem stands on the shoulders of giants, namely Dylan, who is surprisingly small when you get close up.</p><p>Obviously I hope it sells but, hand on heart, its about doing something different. I wanted to write a book that people haven't seen before, I know that I've never read a book like it before. </p><p>I think there is an important point here, writing under anonymity allows the reader to asses my ramblings without the prejudice that they might have towards a player that they know has played for a rival team or a person that doesn't perhaps have any kind of profile outside of his own club. </p><p>Sir, never underestimate the power of a well connected agent, or, 'the Carlsberg agent' as we call him. Clearly, there are players at every club that are there because the agent has made promises to that manager that he will have a chance to sign the agents star player if he just takes this other one for a year or two first. </p><p>To answer your other point, there are many examples of players that have made it all the way from bottom to top as you quite rightly point out and I think that is because many players are so hungry to get to the top now. There is a clear agenda in the media that football, outside of the Premier League, does not exist; the column inches alone back that up and many papers have pulled reporters from games outside of the Premier League altogether. </p><p>Simon Kuper writes for the FTweekend about anything and everything and occasionally he'll write a fantastic article on football. Last weekend I think he had the front page of the Life&amp;Arts section, if you missed it then try to find it because it was brilliant. I read his columns and I immediately feel competition and think, 'I'm going to write something better than that'. I don't think I've managed it yet but he has certainly helped me. </p><p>I wont say he's wasted at the FT because clearly he isn't but I'd love to see his football writings find their way in to a paper that has a big football following such as the Guardian, I think he could provide a huge amount of new and interesting insight for, shall we say, proper football fans? (there goes a career at the FT).</p><p>I'd play football because I love it, when I finish playing professionally I'd still like to play at the weekends with any team that will have me, no mater what the standard. There's nothing like a game of football, even better when peoples jobs aren't on the line!</p><p>Only when it goes wrong. Its the same in a lot of industries I imagine – banking, the media – everyone has their hands out for as long as they can until somebody (hopefully not you) gets caught out. </p><p>I am sure that the Rangers and Portsmouth players are asking how their clubs could have got in to the mess that they have, then again, I know that nobody at Chelsea or Manchester City is asking, 'what happens if our owners suddenly get bored?' </p><p>In some cases. But mostly, it's because foreign players are cheaper. Despite everybody in the game knowing that English players can often be inferior to that of their foreign counterpart, the transfer fees paid for them and their wages remain excessive in comparison. </p><p>Also, the pool is smaller, if I wanted to sign a new midfielder then I have a handful of English options or, alternatively, the rest of the world to choose from. </p><p>hahahahahahaahahahaaa</p><p>I remember playing once and it was so hot, an opponent next to me said: 'Tell the ref to just blow the fucking whistle, its a draw, everyones happy.' </p><p>That was when I realised that he had had enough and I might be able to get the upper hand. Unfortunately I was absolutely knackered and from that moment both of us barely moved for the last five minutes of the game. I think that without saying it, we had both agreed to give the other one an easy ride.</p><p>It depends what the message is, some players will have a specific message on the off chance that they score and then bin it if they don't. An African player that I know wanted to wish happy birthday to somebody once. Two months that person waited.</p><p>In my view and going on what I've seen, the player is the most popular boy in school or in a group of friends and he gets together with the best looking girl at school or that group of friends, they go out for a few years and then they get married. </p><p>Shortly after that the boy breaks in to a first team and buys an expensive gentleman's washbag, then he goes on his first Christmas party and then a lightbulb suddenly goes off in his head. That is when it all starts to go wrong for the girl. Not always of course but pretty often.</p><p>No, but if somebody gets a mark of four or below in the paper it goes straight on the status update of our mobile phone group chats.</p><p>As much as anything else, my biggest concern was that I'd be outed in the first few weeks and that would have ruined the whole column and it would have made The Guardian look silly. </p><p>I had promised them that I could deliver interesting columns in this format and Paul and Ian made the decision to back me. </p><p>Answering the last part first, I think that some elements of our excessive behaviour in a nightclub are tolerated by the owners because a certain amount of patronage can be very welcome. If a footballer throws &pound;50 notes in the air, then that's good for their business. Most of the people that were there to see it will surely be there the following next week.</p><p>For me, it isn't necessarily the bad behaviour as a whole, it is more about not knowing when to stop. That is certainly what I have witnessed throughout my career. Some players are great value on a night out and then right at the last moment they go too far as their audience demands something even more bizarre and outrageous and that is what ends up in the papers the next day.</p><p>Reputations can secure transfer moves, they can get you off a ban at the FA and they can help to sweet talk referees. They can also have the reverse effect in all of the previous examples!</p><p>I certainly think that referees are vulnerable to players reputations, I have seen some referees crumble when Terry and co are crowding around them.</p><p>Definitely, every club has them. They are called the 'five-a-side player'. They are world-beaters in small sided games, you simply cant get the ball from them and their passing is excellent. </p><p>As soon as they are on a big pitch it is like playing with ten men. I couldn't tell you why though!</p><p>Thank you to everyone that posted a question today and I really hope that you enjoy the book too. Apologies that I couldn't answer everything but you can continue to post questions at: <a href="www.thesecretfootballer.com">www.thesecretfootballer.com</a> or follow me on Twitter: <a href="https://es.twitter.com/TSFGuardian">@tsfguardian</a> I will answer them all eventually!</p><p>I did say that I would carry on tomorrow but apparently the Guardian have run out of T-shirts!</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/aug/23/secret-footballer-answers-questions-live">Continue reading...</a>FootballPremier LeagueSportPremier League 2012-13Thu, 23 Aug 2012 09:38:43 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/aug/23/secret-footballer-answers-questions-liveprThe Secret Footballer answered your questions liveGuardianLogo for Guardian Sport's new column called "The Secret Footballer" Photograph: GuardianThe Secret Footballer2012-08-23T09:38:43ZThe Secret Footballer: undercover in the Premier League | extracthttp://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/aug/10/secret-footballer-undercover-premier-league
Growing up on a&nbsp;council estate, all he wanted to do was play football. But a long career in the Premier League has made him question everything. The Guardian's Secret Footballer reveals what life is really like at the top of the game<p>A few years ago, I seriously considered giving up football. Sometimes, when the games are coming thick and fast, and you don't see your family, you aren't playing wonderfully well and the results are poor, it gets on top of you. I would later come to realise this was depression knocking at the door. But standing in the tunnel before a match against Liverpool at Anfield, I had a brush with something that Marcel Proust describes as &quot;a remembrance of things past&quot;. As our coach gave each player a&nbsp;ball, I lifted mine up to my nose and sniffed it. Don't ask me why – I had never done it before as a&nbsp;professional, or since. The ball was brand new and looked so inviting. The smell took me right back to my council estate and the moment when my mum and dad bought me one of my first full-size footballs. It suddenly filled me with all the reasons I'd ever wanted to play the game – it smelled of happy times and familiarity. As the noise outside grew louder and the opening notes of You'll Never Walk Alone made their way through the tunnel, I&nbsp;told myself to keep that moment at the front of my mind for as long as possible.</p><p>As a kid, I played football day and night – I used to take a ball to bed with me so that I could do keep-ups as soon as I woke up. Football held the possibility of glory and happiness, and an escape from the mundane life that came with growing up in a small town. I played for the best local teams, the county and district sides, and was known in our area as one of a crop of talented players who were emerging. Around the age of 15 and 16, a few of my team-mates were picked up by professional clubs. It was pretty hard. I didn't feel they were as skilful as me – stronger maybe, and certainly better built at the age of 15, but definitely not as good with the ball. When I finally signed with a team myself (for &pound;500 a week, which was a fortune to me), I set about my new-found career with the overriding feeling that they'd let someone in the door that perhaps they shouldn't have, an outsider into the inner sanctum. That feeling has never left me.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/aug/10/secret-footballer-undercover-premier-league">Continue reading...</a>Premier LeagueFootballSportDepressionFamilyLife and styleBooksCulturePremier League 2012-13Fri, 10 Aug 2012 22:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/aug/10/secret-footballer-undercover-premier-leagueJay BrooksThe secret footballer: 'For the record, I never thought I’d be this old. My career has ﬂown by; there have been unbelievable highs and terrible lows.' Photograph: Jay BrooksJay BrooksThe secret footballer: 'For the record, I never thought I’d be this old. My career has ﬂown by; there have been unbelievable highs and terrible lows.' Photograph: Jay BrooksThe Secret Footballer2012-08-10T22:00:00ZThe Secret Footballer: relegation and the one what-if of my careerhttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/may/11/the-secret-footballer-relegation
The manager went round the dressing room and shook everyone's hand and I knew I would be moving on soon<p>With five minutes to go of the last game of the season, I knew we were relegated. Where we had longed to hear our fans burst into sporadic fits of cheering as a welcome goal went in at the opposite end of the country, we had instead heard the unmistakable sound of collective groaning.</p><p>As we slunk from the pitch, in the same way that relegated Queens Park Rangers or Bolton Wanderers players will do at about 5pm on Sunday, I remember taking a last look at our fans. I knew I wouldn't see them again and they had been amazing to me. My contract, as was the case with many of the other players, was about to be cut in half and my assets, mainly property, bought on the back of a Premier League spending spree, were hopelessly exposed. In short, I could not afford to keep up the payments on any of it and as a result everything I owned would be at the mercy of the bank.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/may/11/the-secret-footballer-relegation">Continue reading...</a>Premier League 2011-12Premier LeagueFootballSportFri, 11 May 2012 22:03:38 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/may/11/the-secret-footballer-relegationTom Jenkins/Tom JenkinsNewcastle's Steven Taylor after their defeat to Aston Villa meant relegation from the Premier League in 2009. Photograph: Tom JenkinsTom Jenkins/Tom JenkinsNewcastle's Steven Taylor after their defeat to Aston Villa meant relegation from the Premier League in 2009. Photograph: Tom JenkinsThe Secret Footballer2012-05-11T22:03:38ZGet the stock replies ready before a night out | The Secret Footballerhttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/may/04/the-secret-footballer-stock-replies
As my career has progressed I have adopted a pretty severe solution for avoiding the people that want my time<p>It's easy to look at the recent actions of Aston Villa's James Collins, Fabian Delph and Chris Herd as three more footballers in a nightclub, drinking too much and behaving badly. While some or all of that may well be true, I am willing to bet that in the background there lurks another protagonist.</p><p>The simple truth is that I expect there to be trouble on a night out because people tend to have a fair amount to drink and, as a result, they suddenly become very brave, or stupid. Being a professional footballer, it is easy to divide the opinion of a room full of people without speaking to any of them. Personally, I try to avoid nights out with big groups of lads. For years, I even managed to skip the Christmas party until, strangely, it became a fine if you didn't attend.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/may/04/the-secret-footballer-stock-replies">Continue reading...</a>FootballSportFri, 04 May 2012 22:03:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/may/04/the-secret-footballer-stock-repliesGuardian.co.ukYou never know when someone is going to strike so it pays to have a solid non-offensive answer to fall back on. Photograph: Guardian.co.ukGuardian.co.ukYou never know when someone is going to strike so it pays to have a solid non-offensive answer to fall back on. Photograph: Guardian.co.ukThe Secret Footballer2012-05-04T22:03:02ZThe Secret Footballer: Mind games and the truth behind the clichéshttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/apr/27/the-secret-footballer-mind-games
No player will have been able to ignore&nbsp;the attempts of the Manchester City and United managers to unsettle each other<p>I have always had the overriding feeling that I am not free to set my own course. Stanley Milgram, a Harvard psychologist, felt the same. He conducted experiments in which people believed they were inflicting lethal electric shocks on others. Milgram proved that many people are prepared to kill if they are absolved of the responsibility.</p><p>That's how I find playing football under some managers and certainly how I see some other players. &quot;The gaffer's son&quot;, which is how these players are known, will carry out any instruction that his manager gives him (especially if it involves cutting a fellow professional in half), not because he is an arse-kisser but because it is how he is programmed. Mentally, he is at his happiest when he is carrying out somebody else's&nbsp;instructions.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/apr/27/the-secret-footballer-mind-games">Continue reading...</a>FootballSportFri, 27 Apr 2012 22:04:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/apr/27/the-secret-footballer-mind-gamesMatthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty ImagesSir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, is the undoubted master of the psychologist's art. Photograph: Matthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty ImagesMatthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty ImagesSir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, is the undoubted master of the psychologist's art. Photograph: Matthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty ImagesThe Secret Footballer2012-04-27T22:04:03ZThe Secret Footballer: Promotion needs team built to fight every inchhttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/apr/20/promotion-team-fight-every-inch
Those Reading players with Premier League experience fed off the hunger of those who have never had a taste of the big time<p>I've lost count of the number of managers who have used the well-known Al Pacino speech from the film Any Given Sunday as a motivational tool just before a big game. Queens Park Rangers even played it on the giant screen at Loftus Road before they played&nbsp;Swansea City 10 days ago. But for&nbsp;my money, it is the team that buy into the sentiment of Pacino's war cry for longest that will have the most&nbsp;success.</p><p>Reading's haul of 46 points from the past 51 available has seen them promoted to the Premier League after a four-year absence. From the outside looking in, it would appear that Brian McDermott's squad of players recognise that together they are far more than the sum of their parts and, having caught a couple of their games on TV this season, they certainly appear to be a squad that have fought their way back to the big stage one inch at a time.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/apr/20/promotion-team-fight-every-inch">Continue reading...</a>ReadingFootballSportFri, 20 Apr 2012 22:03:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/apr/20/promotion-team-fight-every-inchWarren Little/Getty ImagesIt would appear Brian McDermott's squad of Reading players recognise that together they are far more than the sum of their parts. Photograph: Warren Little/Getty ImagesWarren Little/Getty ImagesIt would appear Brian McDermott's squad of Reading players recognise that together they are far more than the sum of their parts. Photograph: Warren Little/Getty ImagesThe Secret Footballer2012-04-20T22:03:04ZThe Secret Footballer: Moneyball works better at Stoke than Liverpoolhttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/apr/13/secret-footballer-moneyball-stoke-liverpool
The style of Stoke City, four points behind Liverpool in the league table, is a rudimentary example of soccernomics<p>The Moneyball philosophy first used by the Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane is the study of a set of underestimated statistics that are then used to find undervalued baseball players in the transfer market. Soccernomics, the football equivalent, is the analysis of a similar set of numbers used to give teams a competitive edge.</p><p>Damien Comolli, Liverpool's now departed director of football, was apparently first turned on to soccernomics by Ars&egrave;ne Wenger during their time together at Arsenal, and Comolli has used it with varying degrees of success (depending on whether you believe him or the managers he has worked for) ever since.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/apr/13/secret-footballer-moneyball-stoke-liverpool">Continue reading...</a>Stoke CityLiverpoolFootballSportFri, 13 Apr 2012 22:02:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/apr/13/secret-footballer-moneyball-stoke-liverpoolCarl Recine/Action ImagesJermaine Pennant, a former Liverpool player, ahs thrived at Stoke City. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action ImagesCarl Recine/Action ImagesJermaine Pennant, a former Liverpool player, ahs thrived at Stoke City. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action ImagesThe Secret Footballer2012-04-13T22:02:01ZThe Secret Footballer: You must feel sorry for Andy Carroll. Well I dohttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/apr/06/the-secret-footballer-andy-carroll
I know what failing to live up to a big transfer fee feels like, so can empathise – and Liverpool's previous problems with strikers from outside suggest part of the fault lies with their system<p>Don't all rush to agree with me, but I would like to make a case for the defence of Andy Carroll.</p><p>My empathy for Liverpool's &pound;35m striker comes from having suffered quite&nbsp;spectacularly in the wake of a big‑money move of my own. Admittedly&nbsp;there is a certain amount of morbid curiosity that accompanies watching such a public failing, but I would like to see Carroll come good, not because I have a particular affinity for him or because&nbsp;I am a fan of Liverpool (though I've always liked them) but because I know&nbsp;how utterly humiliating it can be.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/apr/06/the-secret-footballer-andy-carroll">Continue reading...</a>Andy CarrollLiverpoolFootballSportFri, 06 Apr 2012 16:45:55 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/apr/06/the-secret-footballer-andy-carrollOwen Humphreys/PAAndy Carroll shows his frustration at Newcastle United, in a game Liverpool lost and in which he was booked for diving. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PAOwen Humphreys/PAAndy Carroll shows his frustration at Newcastle United, in a game Liverpool lost and in which he was booked for diving. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PAThe Secret Footballer2012-04-06T16:45:55ZThe Secret Footballer: The tweet police should let us get on with ithttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/mar/30/the-secret-footballer-twitter
Policing social media is a struggle for many clubs who not so long ago felt they could control almost every word that came out of a player's mouth<p>If Mario Savio, the student who led the freedom of speech movement at Berkeley in 1964, could see how years later his proteges at NYU and Harvard would come to test the very fabric of his argument with Facebook and Twitter, he might well have wondered if it was going to be worth the bother.</p><p>Once again Twitter has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons after a student at Swansea University, Liam Stacey, was jailed for 56 days for posting racially aggravated comments relating to Fabrice Muamba. The prosecutor in the case said: &quot;We hope this case will serve as a warning to anyone who may think that comments made online are somehow beyond the law.&quot; If he'd have posted that on Twitter he may well have got through to his target audience.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/mar/30/the-secret-footballer-twitter">Continue reading...</a>TwitterFootballMediaSportFri, 30 Mar 2012 22:02:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/mar/30/the-secret-footballer-twitterAndrew Boyers/Action ImagesWolves' Roger Johnson, left, cannot have been amused by his wife's tweet after he was left on the bench. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action ImagesAndrew Boyers/Action ImagesWolves' Roger Johnson, left, cannot have been amused by his wife's tweet after he was left on the bench. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action ImagesThe Secret Footballer2012-03-30T22:02:02ZThe Secret Footballer: Why we raced through my medicalhttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/mar/23/secret-footballer-medicals-fabrice-muamba
Officials and players are sometimes complicit in cutting corners when it comes to transfer deals, though in general clubs now offer the best possible treatment for their young charges<p>I have spent my life chasing money, material possessions and recognition but I've never stopped to ask why. I guess it was just something I thought a person should try to do. Since Christmas I have been thinking of bringing my football career to an end in order to take up a new challenge, but I saw something last Saturday that shocked and shamed me in equal measure.</p><p>Of almost any footballer I have come across, nobody epitomises what it means to be grateful to play the game for a living more than Fabrice Muamba. A more down to earth and decent person you could not wish to meet, as the outpouring of sympathy and best wishes from his peers over the last week has demonstrated.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/mar/23/secret-footballer-medicals-fabrice-muamba">Continue reading...</a>Fabrice MuambaFootballSportFri, 23 Mar 2012 23:02:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/mar/23/secret-footballer-medicals-fabrice-muambaguardian.co.ukThe Secret Footballer. Photograph: guardian.co.ukguardian.co.ukThe Secret Footballer. Photograph: guardian.co.ukThe Secret Footballer2012-03-23T23:02:03ZThe Secret Footballer: an agent not afraid to bend the rules is keyhttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/mar/16/secret-footballer-agents
Show me a teenager who always makes the right decision and I'll show you 30 millionaire professional footballers, on the move again this summer, who can't tie their own boots<p>Precocious talent like that of Lille's Eden Hazard is easy to spot. It's easier still when sporting director Zinedine Zidane says: &quot;I would take him to Real Madrid with my eyes closed.&quot;</p><p>Those inside the game have been aware of the Belgian for several years and it is fair to say that since Sir Alex Ferguson watched him play at the weekend, everyone will now know his&nbsp;name. I was talking to an Arsenal fan&nbsp;last week about whom he'd love to see his team sign this summer. &quot;Eden Hazard,&quot; he replied. &quot;Have you ever actually seen him play?&quot; I asked. &quot;No,&quot;&nbsp;came the reply, &quot;but he's meant to be excellent.&quot;</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/mar/16/secret-footballer-agents">Continue reading...</a>FootballSportFri, 16 Mar 2012 23:02:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/mar/16/secret-footballer-agentsPhilippe Huguen/AFP/Getty ImagesLille's Eden Hazard is an obvious transfer target but look outside the obvious candidates for a move this summer and there are hundreds of other, perhaps less glamorous, deals already being worked on. Photograph: Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty ImagesPhilippe Huguen/AFP/Getty ImagesLille's Eden Hazard is an obvious transfer target but look outside the obvious candidates for a move this summer and there are hundreds of other, perhaps less glamorous, deals already being worked on. Photograph: Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Secret Footballer2012-03-16T23:02:02ZThe Secret Footballer: Promoting your No2 is always a big mistakehttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/mar/09/the-secret-footballer
Many assistants struggle when given the manager's job because they do not have the character required to be the main man<p>Ask most people what comes to mind at the mention of The Godfather trilogy and nine times out of 10 they will make reference to the decapitated horse's head placed in the bed of the stubborn moviemaker Jack Woltz. For me, though, the star has always been the Corleone family's loyal right-hand man and consigliere, Tom Hagen.</p><p>The role of the No2 is certainly under‑appreciated, which is why some have a desire to try their hand as the main man. On Saturday afternoon two managers who have made their mark as the second in command will go head to head in a crucial Premier League relegation battle, as Terry Connor's Wolverhampton Wanderers take on Steve Kean's Blackburn Rovers at Molineux. Although Connor has been in the job two minutes and is in temporary charge as things stand, it feels like both men are destined to add their names to a long list of former assistants – Ricky Sbragia, John Gorman, Chris Hutchings, Steve Wigley, Sammy Lee and Les Reed immediately spring to mind – who have made a pig's ear of things in the Premier League after accepting the chance to run the show.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/mar/09/the-secret-footballer">Continue reading...</a>FootballSportFri, 09 Mar 2012 23:01:50 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/mar/09/the-secret-footballerMatthew Lewis/Getty ImagesSteve Kean has struggled since taking over as Blackburn manager after previously being the No2. Photograph: Matthew Lewis/Getty ImagesMatthew Lewis/Getty ImagesSteve Kean has struggled since taking over as Blackburn manager after previously being the No2. Photograph: Matthew Lewis/Getty ImagesThe Secret Footballer2012-03-09T23:01:50ZThe Secret Footballer: Deep down, everyone wants to be captainhttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/mar/02/the-secret-footballer-captain
A captain should be the player above all others in whom one can absolutely confide but the politics mean you can spend more time arranging things off the field than getting things right on it<p>Just how important is the captain? He divides up the matchday tickets for the players, he leads the team out, chooses which end to kicks towards and, if you're really lucky, he may just be the difference between success and failure.</p><p>I read last week that the England armband has been passed around like a live grenade, but I have had the honour of the captaincy and it's amazing how a little armband (infuriatingly put on upside down most of the time – how hard can it be?) can make you push your chest out with pride and feel a foot taller. As much as players pretend they don't care, secretly, deep down, almost everybody wants to be captain.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/mar/02/the-secret-footballer-captain">Continue reading...</a>EnglandFootballSportFri, 02 Mar 2012 23:03:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/mar/02/the-secret-footballer-captainPaul Gilham - The Fa/The FA via Getty ImagesScott Parker is disconsolate after the defeat by Holland but he was proud to wear the England armband. Photograph: Paul Gilham - The Fa/The FA via Getty ImagesPaul Gilham - The Fa/The FA via Getty ImagesScott Parker is disconsolate after the defeat by Holland but he was proud to wear the England armband. Photograph: Paul Gilham - The Fa/The FA via Getty ImagesThe Secret Footballer2012-03-02T23:03:02ZThe Secret Footballer: What matters more: cash or cups? Take a guesshttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/feb/24/secret-footballer-cash-trophies
Nice though another medal in the cabinet would be, football is a job and the best&nbsp;place to ply your trade is in the Premier League<p>I know what the Birmingham City players would have been thinking during their Carling Cup lap of honour and I also know what many of them would have been thinking when they were relegated three months later.</p><p>The League Cup has long had its detractors but none of the natives on the blue half of the divide at Wembley were complaining after Birmingham's win over Arsenal in the final last season. Yet the sterile reality of football is that for many of us players winning a trophy is a bonus.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/feb/24/secret-footballer-cash-trophies">Continue reading...</a>Carling CupFootballSportFri, 24 Feb 2012 23:02:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/feb/24/secret-footballer-cash-trophiesTom Jenkins/Tom JenkinsWouldn't the Birmingham players and fans preferred to have stayed in the Premier League instead of winning the Carling Cup? Photograph: Tom JenkinsTom Jenkins/Tom JenkinsWouldn't the Birmingham players and fans preferred to have stayed in the Premier League instead of winning the Carling Cup? Photograph: Tom JenkinsThe Secret Footballer2012-02-24T23:02:02Z